Saturday, November 05, 2005

Paragliding!

I was back in the Sacred Valley near Chincero, getting ready to run off of a cliff. Most people would consider it a bit dangerous or crazy; I call it fun. It took about an hour to setup the chute and our tandem harness. Once we were airborn, I realized that this was a better experience than skydiving in many regards. This afforded me to take in the scenery, and float above the earth like a bird, as opposed to speeding towards earth at terminal velocity.

The length of the ride was not guaranteed, but my guide managed to climb to 5000 meters via thermals before we drifted back down to the ground. My ride lasted for about 40 minutes, as opposed to some of the girls I were with that had a 10 minute descent to the ground. I tried to take a movie of the flight, but I selected the wrong option on my camera. So instead of great video, I have a great sound clip of air rushing past a microphone.

I've now sampled South America and I'm eager to return, to journey farther into Bolivia, experience Chile, and Argentina. This was my last full day in Peru - I will be heading back into the office on Monday. Returning to the weekly routine of corporate America. While I'm grateful to have a wonderful job, taking myself out of a familiar situation, language, and culture has once again renewed my spirit, opened my eyes, and made me humble.

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